Get EVIL on your phone

Kirby estate seeks to regain copyright

Newsarama is reporting that the Jack Kirby estate is notifying prospective Marvel-buyer, Disney, as well as other entities such as Spider-Man-movie producer Sony Pictures, of their intention to reclaim Kirby’s ownership to certain characters he helped create.

[NEWSARAMA] The New York Times reports the legal notices expressed an intent to regain copyrights to some Kirby co-creations as early as 2014, this according to a statement from Toberoff & Associates, a Los Angeles firm that helped win a court ruling last year returning a share of the copyright in Superman to heirs of the character’s co-creator, Jerry Siegel.

Forty-five notices of copyright termination were sent to companies that hold licensing deals with Marvel characters. Those companies include Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and others.